Murder and Mayheim
Mystery bookstore owner Cassie Mayheim practically investigates fictional murders for a living. When she’s gifted a ticket on an Alaskan "WhoDunIt" cruise for her fortieth birthday, she thinks it’s the perfect playground for her amateur sleuthing skills. But the theatrical fun takes a chilling turn when the staged crime reveals very real danger. On the other side of the script is Hannah Garcia, a veteran cruise performer used to the nightly theatrics. When Hannah inadvertently uncovers a deadly, unscripted twist, she becomes a killer's very real target. Desperate and trapped at sea, Hannah finds an unlikely ally in Cassie. As the luxury liner cuts through the icy, isolated Alaskan waters, the two women must team up to catch a murderer—before the final curtain falls on them both.
- Cassie - Owner of Murder and Mayheim Bookstore
- Krystal - Cassie’s best friend
- Hannah - Employee on the cruise
- Olivia - Hannah’s twin sister
- Goldie - Cruise passenger
- Rosie - Cruise passenger, Goldie’s sister
- Brady - Chief navigation officer
- Paula - Hannah’s friend, Cruise employee
- Kali - Hannah’s friend
- Dalton - Kali’s cousin
- Eric - Bartender
- Manny - Kali’s manager
- Cassie and Krystal go on a murder mystery cruise to celebrate Cassie’s 40th birthday.
- Hannah sneaks Olivia onboard the ship.
- Hannah asks Cassie on a date.
- The next morning Olivia is found murdered, but everyone thinks the victim is Hannah.
- Hannah finds Cassie and Krystal in their room and explains that Olivia is her twin. They recently found each other after being separated at birth and Hannah snuck her onboard so she could have a nice vacation.
- Hannah shows them a letter she received from Kali saying ‘If i go missing show this to authorities’ along with an SD card.
- Pictures on the SD card show a bulldozer burying two human bodies.
- Kali went missing after mailing the SD card to Hannah.
- Cassie concludes someone was after the SD card and mistakenly killed Olivia thinking she was Hannah.
- Hannah asks Paula to pull the security footage of Olivia’s death.
- Hannah’s mom texts her saying she knows the dead girl isn’t Hannah because the body is missing Hannah’s scar.
- Hannah’s mom admits she told someone on the ship the dead girl wasn’t Hannah, but can’t remember who.
- Kali’s body washes up on shore in Sitka.
- Before she disappeared, Kali told Manny she was going to see Dalton in Ketchikan because he had gotten himself into trouble.
- Cassie and Hannah find an old picture of Dalton and Eric together.
- Back onboard the ship, Cassie finds Eric dead.
- Hannah goes missing and wakes up in the morgue.
- Paula pulls the security footage and sees Hannah being kidnapped, but not who took her.
- Paula checks the live camera feeds and sees Brady taking Hannah to the incinerator room.
- Cassie and Krystal go to the incinerator room and manage to subdue Brady until help arrives.
- Epilogue: Eight months later: Hannah moves in with Cassie.
- Brady was running an illegal gold mining business in Ketchikan.
- When his transient workers were poisoned to death in the mines, Brady and his crew buried the bodies believing no one would miss them.
- Dalton found out and called Kali to come get him.
- Kali photographed one of the burials and when Brady found out, he sent men to kill her and recover the SD card.
- Brady killed Olivia, believing she was Hannah, by lacing her drink straw with cyanide.
- Brady killed Eric because Eric supplied the drugs Brady gave his workers to keep them working long hours, and Brady believed Eric was about to expose him.
- Brady gets sentenced to life in prison.
Murder and Mayheim by Ronica Black and Toni Logan is a really enjoyable, fast-paced read. I loved that the story is structurally driven by short chapters; it kept the momentum going and made it easy to fly through the pages.
One of the strongest elements of the book was the character development. I easily got invested in the main character, Cassie, and the progression of her story. Furthermore, I thought her sidekicks, Goldie and Rosie, were a great addition. They brought a fun, entertaining dynamic to the narrative and perfectly complemented Cassie throughout the book.
The central romantic relationship was another highlight, and I genuinely enjoyed watching it unfold. I will add a quick content note though: the book does contain a few somewhat explicit romance scenes. While I really liked the romance itself, the heat level of those specific scenes did catch me a bit by surprise!
As for the mystery itself, I thought it was okay, though it felt a bit complicated with a lot of moving parts. My biggest critique is just how the conclusion is handled. Rather than a steady, organic build-up to the final reveal, the ending felt a bit abrupt to me. It definitely ties up all the loose ends, but the execution of those final explanations just wasn't as satisfying as I had hoped it would be.
Overall, despite my mixed feelings about the ending, I thought this was an entertaining book with a great cast of characters and a relationship I could easily root for. If you are looking for an engaging read with great sidekicks and a brisk pace, definitely pick this one up.
- Olivia - Dead - Poisoned with cyanide by Brady
- Kali - Dead - Killed on orders from Brady
- Eric - Dead - Poisoned by Brady
- Dalton - Alive - In drug rehab
- Cassie - Alive - In a relationship with Hannah
- Hannah - Alive - Living with Cassie and working at Murder and Mayheim Bookstore
- Brady - Alive - Serving life in prison
- Loss of a parent
- Murder
- Alcohol
- Drugs
ISBN: 9798900350608
Publication Date: June 16, 2026
Note: Details are for the original edition. Other formats, editions, and audiobook versions may be available.
